Slovenia slides in nicely with Uruguay, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and other small but packed countries that I loved, thought were amazing, yet would never fully endorse for someone to visit. Slovenia is parts Italy, parts Germany / Switzerland, with an ease and subtlety all of its own...but if you haven't been to Italy or Germany how do you pull the trigger on a trip to the relatively obscure Slovenia? Well...it can be seen in a single, one-week visit, it's a great value - good food and beer at low prices, there's relatively few crowds, and for the moment it still retains an "undiscovered" feel compared to Croatia which seems to be getting trampled over.
SLOVENIAN DESTINATIONS
Hotel Accommodations
Ljubljana has tens of hostels scattered throughout its city core in the $10 - $15 price range. I camped at Lake Bohinj, however, Lake Bled has a few hostels too (confirm).
Piran and the Slovenian coast requires a bit more research. As of June 2015, there were no hostel in Piran itself - the lowest rate I found was $40 USD per night for a queen bed and private bath. The hotel was in Piran's old town and a nice place to stay. There seemed to be a few campsites and hostels along the coast around Portoroz and beyond. Staying here would require figuring out a bit more logistics on where to exit the bus and proceed to the hotel from there.
Food
After high prices in Croatia and Italy, prices in Slovenia dropped about 25% and 50%, respectively, with the quality being better than Croatia. Slovenia has a mixed cuisine featuring Italian, German, and Balkan aspects. I overheard a local in Ljubljana say Slovenians aren't really foodies, that they eat to fill their stomachs - the food is good and basic, nothing pretentious or chefs trying too hard.
Ljubljana is a college town and thus there are lots of low-cost options - a hamburger, fries, and beer will cost about $6, although a little more expensive on the main pedestrian areas.
Slovenia had the best beer - the national brand UNICA was light, good on a hot day, and still quite a bit of taste. In another surprise, Ljubljana has an unusually high volume of microbreweries for a country of its size. BLANK offers a full assortment. I considered visited one or two but they are not in the most convenient or easy to reach locations.
Lake Bled restaurants seemed more catering to tourists and vacationers. The campsite I stayed at had a kitchen with an extensive menu and ancho offerings.
Piran's dining scene felt a bit touristy although I got the impression it was more Slovenians and Italians enjoying their vacation homes than other Europeans. I found a good spot at one of the inner courtyards.
In Country Travel
Buses cover the country and beyond. For short distances, say less than four or five hours, it's much cheaper to take the bus than the train. The hour bus ride from Ljubljana to Zagreb was a third the price of the train. It was easy reaching Lake Bled and Lake Bohinj. A bus leaves Ljubljana every hour. It's an hour and fifteen minutes to Bled and another thirty minutes to Bohinj.
Ljubljana has tens of hostels scattered throughout its city core in the $10 - $15 price range. I camped at Lake Bohinj, however, Lake Bled has a few hostels too (confirm).
Piran and the Slovenian coast requires a bit more research. As of June 2015, there were no hostel in Piran itself - the lowest rate I found was $40 USD per night for a queen bed and private bath. The hotel was in Piran's old town and a nice place to stay. There seemed to be a few campsites and hostels along the coast around Portoroz and beyond. Staying here would require figuring out a bit more logistics on where to exit the bus and proceed to the hotel from there.
Food
After high prices in Croatia and Italy, prices in Slovenia dropped about 25% and 50%, respectively, with the quality being better than Croatia. Slovenia has a mixed cuisine featuring Italian, German, and Balkan aspects. I overheard a local in Ljubljana say Slovenians aren't really foodies, that they eat to fill their stomachs - the food is good and basic, nothing pretentious or chefs trying too hard.
Ljubljana is a college town and thus there are lots of low-cost options - a hamburger, fries, and beer will cost about $6, although a little more expensive on the main pedestrian areas.
Slovenia had the best beer - the national brand UNICA was light, good on a hot day, and still quite a bit of taste. In another surprise, Ljubljana has an unusually high volume of microbreweries for a country of its size. BLANK offers a full assortment. I considered visited one or two but they are not in the most convenient or easy to reach locations.
Lake Bled restaurants seemed more catering to tourists and vacationers. The campsite I stayed at had a kitchen with an extensive menu and ancho offerings.
Piran's dining scene felt a bit touristy although I got the impression it was more Slovenians and Italians enjoying their vacation homes than other Europeans. I found a good spot at one of the inner courtyards.
In Country Travel
Buses cover the country and beyond. For short distances, say less than four or five hours, it's much cheaper to take the bus than the train. The hour bus ride from Ljubljana to Zagreb was a third the price of the train. It was easy reaching Lake Bled and Lake Bohinj. A bus leaves Ljubljana every hour. It's an hour and fifteen minutes to Bled and another thirty minutes to Bohinj.